Fishermen have been warned to stay away from the east coast after a strange fountain of water began spraying up from the sea. Last night, officials from various companies operating from Point Galeota were trying to ascertain whether a natural gas pipeline close to Point Galeota had ruptured. Scores of spectators lined the seafront at the seawall in Guayaguayare to view the strange phenomenon. Fisherman Kevin Joseph said: "We are staying away from there. They warned us already. When the breeze blows this way, you have to cork your nose. It smelling really high." He said more than 50 fishermen spent the day at home instead of doing regular fishing. Beachcomber Ronnie Persad, who came to catch fish with his wife Vanessa Basdeo and their three children, immediately cleared out from the beachfront.
As he reversed his van, Persad said: "I had to cancel this fishing trip. We do not know if that line has the potential to blow." Two miles away, residents of La Brea Village, Guayaguayare said they too were smelling the gas. "We have no reports of anybody feeling ill. We are smelling the gas here and we don't know what is causing the water to pitch up so high in the air," resident Anthony Arneaud said. Up to late evening, Jeanette Elias, the spokesman for National Gas Company and the NGC's corporate leader of Environment, Health and Safety Antonia Lucky, as well as supervisor of the Beachfield facility Trevor Reid were monitoring the site. In a statement, Lucky said: "About midday today, NGC's control room was alerted by the Coast Guard of a water spout present just off Galeota Point in the vicinity of several natural gas and an oil pipelines.
"At this point we are unable to confirm the cause or source of the water disturbance," she said. Lucky explained that NGC had been liaising with energy operators in the area -BGTT, bpTT, Repsol and Petrotrin to determine whether the sea spout was associated with any of the pipelines in the area. In addition, NGC has initiated action on site and in its control rooms to monitor gas flow in the NGC pipeline in the area. "We are also making arrangements to conduct a physical inspection of our gas pipeline within 24 hours," Lucky said. "However, we are ensuring that the community, in particular fishermen, are aware and advised to keep away from the area. As soon as further information is available, we will issue an update." Community Liaison officer of bpTT Rennie Straker said all of the residents and the fishermen were being advised to stay off the area.